Angkor Wat View, Kingdom of Wonder

The Khmer Empire had a history dating from the beginning of the 9th Century till the 14th Century with the decline and disappearance thru to the 16th Century. With the territorial consolidation in the early 9th Century of the Khmer lands and the rise of powerful kings the Empire was able to expand its power and territorial holdings thru much of SE Asia and ruled SE Asia for nearly 500 years. At its peak, The Khmer Empire controlled much of south Vietnam, most the Thailand to the Burmese border, southern Laos and down into the Malay peninsula. The Empire was centered around the area know as Angkor. The center shifted to various areas around the great Tonle Sap Lake which provided the Empire with much of its resources. With each succeeding king great monumental temples were built to show the greatness of the current king. They also built vast reservoirs and irrigation systems that allowed for a large non-subsistence economy that could support large numbers of artistic workers who could be supported by agriculture of the kingdom. The kings were considered Got king and the temples were built specifically for the king to communicate with the Gods. The religion was Hindu based having been brought to Cambodia by Indian trader. The Khmer people adopted the Hindu religion with its Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu cosmology and most temples built were done so to honor one of these Hindu Gods. The Khmer Empire reached its artistic height with the building of Angkor Wat (Temple City) by King Suriyavarman the 2nd in the 12th Century. The artistic style of the Khmer Empire although based on Indian traditions and style is unique onto itself as the artistic talent developed locally. With the ascension to the throne of Jayavarman Vll and his building of Angkor Thom (Great City) and the Bayon temple, the King and the people started to espouse Buddhism and thus the Bayon Temple is considered a Buddhist Temple rather than a Hindu Temple. With Buddhism, the religion is less dogmatic and tolerates the worship of other Gods and animism so you see the mixing up of the elements found in the temple decorations from that period on. In all over the period of the Khmer Empire as many as 100 of these temples were built and can be found in many areas of Cambodia. After the passing of Jayavarman Vll the Khmer Empire began its decline and was eventually broken up by surrounding countries that started to grow in power and take over territory controlled by the Khmers. To the east the Vietnamese were moving south and conquering more lands controlled by the Chams (another Hindu based people of Central Vietnam) and the Khmers in the area now southern Vietnam. To the southwest the Malays were moving up the peninsula pushing the Khmer back and taking more control of that area. To the north and northwest Thailand was growing in power and kept chipping away at lands held by the Khmers and eventually made it all the way to Angkor.